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Glorious, simply glorious. Is there anything more beautiful in all of jazz than the sound of Dexter Gordon's tenor saxophone? The man exhales humanity with every note he blows. I feel uplifted and moved to tears by him. Like the best of all great art, Gordon's jazz stimulates the mind, warms the heart, and unleashes the spirit. You grow as a person when you devote time to listening to him. I can't get enough. Every time a posthumous album is issued, it's time to celebrate. Night Ballads in Montreal (1977) is no different. Gordon is backed by his touring band (Cables, Reid and Gladden) all of whom are masters on their instruments, and their support of Gordon is a joy. As pianist George Cables (whose playing astonishes the listener) says in the album's liner notes, "I'm also thinking AGAIN of all the freedom that Dexter allowed me and everyone else in the band, and allowed us to gel, or let you be who you are, let us be who we were, which gave the band a group strength." My goodness do they play well. This performance is from a club date. The sound quality is excellent; the atmosphere of a club performance comes through, and the audience is obviously hanging on every note. Get the CD, and you'll know why. All the tracks are fabulous, but Lover Man had never appeared before on an LP in this quartet's book. It is worth the price of admission alone. Highest recommendation. For those who need more from this quartet, find and then indulge yourselves in: Dexter Gordon: Manhattan Symphonie (Columbia, 1978) A Gordon Cantata (live in Rome), (West Wind, 1978) Dexter Gordon: Live at Carnegie Hall (Columbia, 1978) Dexter Gordon: Live at Keystone, Volumes 1-3, (Blue Note, 1978-1979) and Dexter Gordon: Body and Soul (live in San Diego) (ARCO 109)Read full review
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